White Spotted Puffer Puffing

[Guest]

My white-spotted SW puffer has been puffing up lately. It is either setting up a territory or is stressed. Anyone who has a white-spotted puffer can tell me what's the norm with the "puffing" of the white-spotted puffer?

 

[TCTFish]

Puffers puff when they feel threatened. Is there someone in the tank he's not taking a liking to or perhaps another fish not taking a liking to him? Is he new? Sometimes new puffers will puff up once in awhile for the first couple of weeks until they feel comfortable in their new surroundings. Keep in mind, these animals come straight from the ocean and puffers are notorious for showing a disliking to their captivity for awhile. Most snap out of it and take to aquarium living. Others sulk in corners with tails tucked. Those are the ones that aren't happy at all. Just make sure water parameters are good and he is free of external parasites. A simple three to five minute FW dip will help clear up any external critters. Make sure he is eating. BTW...don't be surprised if you lose any inverts to him...including snails.

 

[Guest]

Thanks. Actually ite killed two of my three feather dusters a few weeks ago. It wants to claim a corner that the false clown claimed for a long time now. There's also a Huma huma trigger in there. Usually they get along but there are times that the trigger chases it briefly during feeding time. I have a turbo snail that usually hides on the live rock camouflaged. So far the puffer doesn't mess with the snail.

FW dip? Does that work for fin rots? (my trigger has fin rot)

 

[TCTFish]

Both the trigger and the puffer are predators to inverts other than coral. Everything else is on the menu.

A FW dip may help keep the fins clean. You should test all the water parameters...especially nitrate to see if that's what is causing the infection. Usually, fin rot is a secondary infection from being wounded...bitten or torn. You can also pick off any fungus with your fingers. Do use stress coat on wet hands while handling fish.

 

[steve-s]

Water changes work best for frayed fins and milder bacterial issues. It's the DOC in the water that fuels the problem. Improving the living conditions will allow this to clear up on it's own. FW dips won't do much except stress the animal.

Cheers
Steve